There’s been a lot of big finance and economics news in 2023. Whether it's stories about rising interest rates, tech industry layoffs or bank runs, it can almost feel like you need an MBA just to make sense of it all. That’s why the Financial Times is launching a bonus series called Behind the Money: Night School. 

Over the next five weeks, this show will help you understand the concepts behind the biggest economic stories of this year. U.S. managing editor Peter Spiegel chats with FT journalists as they unpack the basics around things like energy markets, inflation and the rise of artificial intelligence. This series is supported by Blinkist. If you want to find out more about conversations like this, check out the Blinkist app.

Behind the Money: Night School is out now. Find it by subscribing to the Behind the Money podcast wherever you listen.

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How difficult is it to fix a workplace that’s gone wrong? It’s a question being asked in the UK following allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment at the country’s leading business lobby organisation, the CBI. Host Isabel Berwick hears from Frances Frei, the Harvard Business School professor who helped change the internal culture at Uber in 2017 after allegations of sexual harassment and sexism there. And Ann Francke, chief executive at the UK’s Chartered Management Institute, tells Isabel that leaders who preach inclusivity must do more to make sure they practise it, too.

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Rebuild the CBI, do not bury it

CBI President apologises for scandal and pledges to reboot

Can Frances Frei fix Uber?

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Audrey Tinline. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Mix by Jake Fielding. The sound engineer is Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the UK, more women are being appointed to boards, but not so often to other leadership roles in large companies. Meanwhile, wage growth for women in the US appears to have stalled and progress on closing the gender pay gap has seen little change over the past 20 years. Latest data also show that about 80 per cent of UK employers pay men more than women on average in their organisation. Host Isabel Berwick combs through the latest data and asks what needs to change, with the FT’s labour and equality correspondent Taylor Nicole Rogers and columnist Pilita Clark.

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Women struggle to close America’s gender pay gap

Nearly 80% of UK employers pay men more than women

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Audrey Tinline and Lulu Smyth. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. The sound engineer is Jake Fielding.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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We’re living in a time of multiple crises — from bank collapses to business failures. So what are the best practices when it comes to anticipating the worst-case scenario and dealing with risk? Isabel Berwick discusses the ways flawed judgement and tribalism get in the way of risk assessment, as well as how to plan ahead with Michael Skapinker, author and FT contributing editor, and John Mullins, an entrepreneur and a professor of management practice at the London Business School.

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From SVB to the BBC: why did nobody see the crisis coming?

https://www.ft.com/content/4d589d5c-f2cb-4568-93dd-acda6fab931f

FT Business Books

https://www.ft.com/content/b47c143f-0aeb-4c82-8c18-ad86d13ee0b3

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rising numbers of adults are choosing to reveal a diagnosis of neurodiversity at work and companies have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for them. But what’s the best way to do that? Isabel Berwick hears from Dan Harris, the founder of Neurodiversity in Business, Nancy Doyle from Genius Within, Janice Rae, who runs TechTalent Academy, and the FT’s Emma Jacobs, who’s been hearing from business leaders diagnosed as neurodivergent. 

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The benefits of revealing neurodiversity in the workplace

How to design an office for every type of brain

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. Mix by Jake Fielding. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When companies lay off thousands of workers at a time, how much do they think about those left behind? Sudden job cuts can sever the bond of trust between employers and their remaining workers. Host Isabel Berwick asks Sandra Sucher from Harvard Business School whether that trust can be repaired, and the FT’s management editor Anjli Raval talks about research into the effects of mass lay-offs. Plus, careers expert Jonathan Black gives tips on how to make sure you are ready to face the job market. 

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The shock of mass lay-offs is only the beginning for companies

Tech workforces: how low can they go?

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lay-offs in some sectors of the US economy have reached levels not seen since the height of the pandemic. Tech and banking sectors have been hit hard and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is bringing more uncertainty. But if headcount has to be cut, how should managers decide who to lay off ? Host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s US Financial Editor Brooke Masters on how companies are managing job cuts, and from Andy Milton, founder of the London Tech Network, who tells her about the effect of widespread lay-offs on tech workers in London. 

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Who to fire: how the biggest companies plan mass lay-offs

https://www.ft.com/content/cb8b5a61-e0fc-4254-9e77-e80e14296718

How not to fire people

https://www.ft.com/content/a19b4a08-3fcb-480f-aaa0-1f2ab607447e

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's shareholder pressure not to allow directors to take on too many board seats at once, something that’s been called ‘overboarding’. Non-executive directors can now find themselves voted off a board by investors if they believe a director is spreading themselves too thinly to do a good job. So how many board positions is too many? Host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s management editor Anjli Raval and corporate governance expert Patricia Lenkov in the US, while the FT’s careers expert Jonathan Black has advice on what’s required to be a good board member. 

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‘Overboarding’: why it has become a hot issue for companies

https://www.ft.com/content/c1aeaa21-1361-492d-a63d-d14d7c1a481d

How do I become a non-executive director?

https://www.ft.com/content/642cc2e5-c04c-4075-9978-03eb6eb44fca

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. 

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Experts say more and more countries are inching towards greater pay transparency as a tool to address unfairness and inequity, such as the gender pay gap. Host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s Nordic correspondent Richard Milne about Norway’s experience of radical pay transparency and discusses the pros and cons of ending salary secrecy with the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, Taylor Nicole Rogers, and Professor Tomasz Obloj from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

We'd love to hear from you. Please help us by filling in our listener survey at ft.com/workingitsurvey. It takes around 10 minutes to complete and you’ll be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

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How salary secrecy is being challenged https://www.ft.com/content/907e041b-975b-4c74-b734-2373d36e09bd

Get ready for salaries to become more public https://www.ft.com/content/009c6492-796f-4bf5-971b-de49bc662f23

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. One-click sign-up at www.ft.com/newsletters

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Persis Love. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us see our work colleagues just as much, if not more, than friends and family – or at least, that was the case before March 2020 and the Covid lockdowns that followed. So how crucial are these workplace friendships in luring employees back to the office after several years of working from home? And is there an inevitable trade-off between climbing the corporate ladder and keeping up your workplace friendships? Host Isabel Berwick discusses these questions and more with Lynda Gratton, professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School, and Sarah Gordon, chief executive of the Impact Investing institute in London and formerly business editor at the Financial Times, where she was one of Isabel’s good workplace friends! 

We'd love to hear from you. Please help us by filling in our listener survey at ft.com/workingitsurvey It will take you around 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

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What do friends bring to the workplace? https://www.ft.com/content/f13bca30-45ea-11e2-b780-00144feabdc0

When your best workplace friend leaves:

https://www.ft.com/content/62b2db86-60e7-11e9-b285-3acd5d43599e

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and 

what’s coming next. One-click sign-up at www.ft.com/newsletters

Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com">isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter 

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Renée Kaplan and Manuela Saragosa. Assistant producer is Persis Love. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. Produced by Novel.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.